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Every New Yorker on David Hollander's table, matched to Shane and Ilya's timeline

Deep dive inspired by @antigone5683 who bought the actual Dec 22, 2008 New Yorker that would have been on David Hollander's coffee table the week his son met Ilya Rozanov in Regina.

The book gives specific dates for every chapter, and The New Yorker publishes every week, so technically there's a real issue that was on newsstands during every single moment of Shane and Ilya's story. I went through the novel chapter by chapter, pulled every date from the headings, cross-referenced them against the New Yorker magazine archive to find which issues were on stands that week, and matched each one to the scene that was happening in the book at that time.

For chapters where the book only gives a month, I looked at which week the real-world event would have fallen on (NHL Awards night, All-Star Weekend, Stanley Cup Final) and picked the issue closest to that date.

20 chapter dates mapped. 8 matched to specific New Yorker issues.

Research, curation, and website by @beast.of.boredom

date pinned to real event month from chapter heading
01 / 20

Two days before Christmas. Ilya Rozanov, seventeen, smokes outside the rink after practice. Shane Hollander walks up.

You're supposed to smoke over there.

They shake hands. Shane says he wanted to meet him. Ilya says nothing kind back. In the car afterward, Shane's mother asks what Rozanov is like. Shane: "Kind of a dick."

David Hollander reads The New Yorker. In the TV show, this becomes a running joke about Shane being "genetically boring." This holiday double issue was on newsstands during the World Juniors in Regina.

View the cover of The New Yorker, Dec 22 & 29, 2008
02 / 20
NHL Draft. Ilya goes #1 to Boston, Shane #2 to Montreal. Silent treadmill race in the hotel gym. Shane shares his water bottle. Their fingers brush.
The New Yorker, Jun 22, 2009
03 / 20
World Juniors. Shane leads Canada to gold. Squeezes Ilya's hand in the handshake line. Ilya spends New Year's Eve alone watching celebrations on TV.
The New Yorker, Dec 7, 2009
04 / 20

CCM endorsement shoot. In the communal showers afterward, Shane stares at Rozanov. Rozanov notices.

What is your room number?

Fourteen ten, Shane said, far too quickly.

If I knock on door of room 1410 tonight... maybe around nine? I might open the door. I might knock.

Shane spends the evening freaking out. He brushes his teeth, flosses, fixes his hair, changes his shirt to a nicer one "for no reason at all." Rozanov knocks.

View the cover of The New Yorker, Jul 5, 2010
05 / 20
Rookie season. First face-off as pros. Ilya boasts about scoring 50 goals. Shane wins the face-off.
The New Yorker, Sep 20, 2010
06 / 20
All-Star Weekend. Afterward, Ilya takes Shane's phone and enters his number under the name Lily. Hollander snorts when he sees it. Who should I be? Shannon? Jane. Jesus Christ. No. Just Jane.
View the cover of The New Yorker, Jan 24, 2011
07 / 20
Shane books a hotel room so Ilya doesn't see his apartment. Room 1822. First time bottoming for Shane.
The New Yorker, Feb 14, 2011
08 / 20
Shane wins Rookie of the Year. Ilya is on the rooftop, smoking, brooding. Pushes Shane against a wall and kisses him. Shane pulls away.
The New Yorker, Jun 13 & 20, 2011
09 / 20
On a plane. Ilya calms an anxious Ryan Price. First sexting with Shane. They meet at Shane's secret condo in Montreal afterward. They discuss the upcoming Olympics.
The New Yorker, Dec 9, 2013
10 / 20
Sochi Olympics. Anti-gay laws. Ilya is berated by his father after a loss to Latvia. Ilya pushes Shane away.
The New Yorker, Feb 10, 2014
11 / 20

NHL Awards. Rozanov's team won the Cup. He and Shane present together. Rozanov shows up late, hair in a bun. Shane: "Where were you?" Rozanov: "Busy." Shane: "With who?" Rozanov just smirks.

In the TV show (not in the novel), this scene includes:

When did your English get so good? I, uh, I read the New Yorker now. Really? No. The New Yorker is boring. My dad loves it. Ah. So being boring is... is genetic. Wow. Genetic.

The only scene in the series where The New Yorker is named. Show-only dialogue by Jacob Tierney.

View the cover of The New Yorker, Jun 23, 2014
12 / 20
Montreal loses 4-1 to Boston. Shane goes to the Biodome with Hayden's kids. Ilya watches a TV feature about Shane's new lakeside cottage.
The New Yorker, Oct 17, 2016
13 / 20

Ilya's penthouse. For the first time, Ilya makes food for Shane.

I got, um, ginger ale. You like that shit, right? Do you like tuna melts? You want to make me a tuna melt? I'm making one for me. I can make two.

They eat on the couch, watch hockey, talk about cities and women. Ilya says Shane's first name during sex. Shane panics, lies about a team meeting, flees.

One week later, Montreal. A club. Shane is with Rose Landry. Ilya spots them from across the dance floor.

View the cover of The New Yorker, Nov 21, 2016
14 / 20
One week after the club. Rose confronts Shane. He comes out to her.
The New Yorker, Dec 5, 2016
15 / 20

All-Star Weekend. Same team for the first time in six and a half seasons. Shane walks into the bar and every head turns. Ilya is wearing a shirt covered in palm trees "because he'd thought it would be funny. Now he felt like a fucking idiot."

That night, they talk. Actually talk. Shane tells Ilya he and Rose are not together. He tells him he's gay. Ilya tells Shane his mother is dead, his father has Alzheimer's. Before Shane leaves, Ilya says, "Goodnight. Shane." Shane says, "Goodnight, Ilya." The first time they use each other's first names gently, deliberately.

After seven years of hookups, this is the first real conversation.

View the cover of The New Yorker, Jan 30, 2017
16 / 20
After the All-Star breakthrough. Shane and Ilya text constantly. Lily and Jane.
The New Yorker, Feb 13, 2017
17 / 20
Ilya's father dies. Emotional phone calls. Ilya confesses love in Russian without Shane understanding.
The New Yorker, Mar 6, 2017
18 / 20
Shane is injured by Cliff Marlow. Taken off the ice on a spinal board. Ilya panics. Shane asks Ilya to come to the cottage. Ilya says maybe.
The New Yorker, Apr 17, 2017
19 / 20

Weeks after a head injury (Cliff Marlow hit), Shane is recovering at his parents' house in Ottawa. Ilya has holed up in Boston. They're both watching the Stanley Cup Final. On TV, Scott Hunter wins the Cup and kisses a man on the ice. Shane texts:

Jane: Holy shit. Are you seeing this? What the fuck?!!!? Is that his boyfriend???!!!!!

Ilya stabs the call button. There was only one ring before:

Holy shit, Ilya! Can you belie-- I'm coming to the cottage.
View the cover of The New Yorker, May 29, 2017
20 / 20

Two weeks at the cottage. A bonfire. A noise in the dark.

What the fuck was that? It's a loon. A what? A loon! It's a bird. Fuck you and your loon! Stupid Canadian wolf bird.

Shane asks if Ilya wants to marry a woman. Ilya talks about having a "problem" he doesn't want to go away. Shane blurts out: don't marry Svetlana.

Next day. Ilya says it first. In Russian. I love you. I love you too. Does it feel like agony for you too? Not anymore.

View the cover of The New Yorker, Jul 3, 2017